21/08/2014 - The seventh edition of the French Film Festival boasts a programme brimming with premieres and a Focus dedicated to Laurent Cantet

Already firmly established within the calendar of film events, today the Angoulême French Film Festival will be kicking off its seventh edition with the Franco-Belgian co-production Tu veux ou tu veux pas by Tonie Marshall, starring Patrick Bruel as a reformed sex addict turned marriage guidance counsellor. He is also now celibate – that is, until he hires an assistant (played by Sophie Marceau), whose unbridled sexuality will soon sorely test his good intentions.

Standing out among the titles being presented in competition – and thus in the running for the Valois d'Or Award, to be decided upon by a jury chaired by Sabine Azéma – are La prochaine fois je viserai le cœur by Cédric Anger (read the article), Melody by Belgian director Bernard Bellefroid (read the article) and Elle l’adore by Jeanne Herry (starring Laurent Lafitte and Sandrine Kiberlain in the lead roles of this story about a woman who gets involved in covering up a crime committed by a pop singer whom she idolises). Also duking it out are, among others, Discount [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Louis-Julien Petit (in which a group of shop employees rebel against the installation of self-service check-out machines – starring Zabou Breitman, Corinne Masiero and Olivier Barthelemy) and the Swiss-Belgian co-production Bouboule by Bruno Deville, as well as two films that were very popular at the Cannes Critics’ Week: Hippocrates [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Lilti
film profile] by Thomas Lilti (read the review) and Hope [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile] by Boris Lojkine (read the review and watch the video interview with the director).

Also featuring on the programme, which runs until 26 August, are an impressive number of world premieres – in particular, Gemma Bovery by Anne Fontaine, Un illustre inconnu by Matthieu Delaporte, Frédéric Tellier’s SK1, la traque de Guy Georges (read the article), Bon rétablissement by Jean Becker, Brèves de Comptoir by Jean-Michel Ribes, Olivier Baroux’s On a marché sur Bangkok, Les souvenirs by Jean-Paul Rouve and Lou! Journal infime by Julien Neel (read the article). This programme of brand-new titles is rounded off by the Cannes competitor Timbuktu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Abderrahmane Sissako (read the review).

Standing out among the other events taking place as part of the festival are a Focus on filmmaker Laurent Cantet and a special spotlight on the company Le Pacte (headed by Jean Labadie).

(Translated from French)